Monday, May 17

The Bahama Mockingbird call is similar to that of the Northern Mockingbird, which is also found on Andros.Bahama Mockingbird.

The resident Myiarchus on Andros is the La Sagra's Flycatcher.

whit

wheep

Two birds calling.

Whit alarm call.

Gray Kingbird song.

Red-legged Thrush song.

Call.

There are two breeding vireo species on Andros.

The Thick-billed Vireo is very similar in appearance and song to the White-eyed Vireo.

This bird sang a rambling version of the song in close vicinity to a female that was selecting a nest-site.

Various calls by two interacting pairs of birds, including alarm calls, quieter calls and bill snapping.

The other breeding vireo on Andros is the Black-whiskered, which has a song similar to the Red-eyed Vireo, but with less variety. The alarm call, which I didn't record, is similar to the Red-eyed Vireo.

This bird uttered a trill in between song phrases.

The Great Lizard-Cuckoo barely flies, and is easy to approach when found. These calls were by two interacting pairs close to dusk. The song, near the beginning of the recording, is more rapid than the similar call of the Mangrove Cuckoo.

song (reduced time scale)

song: individual notes

calls

This poor recording of a Mangrove Cuckoo shows the difference.

The Andros (and Abaco) subspecies of the Black-cowled Oriole has been recently raised to species status, the Bahama Oriole.The song consists of a series of call-like whistles.

Contact call.

Alarm call, near nest-site. The nest was being constructed under a palm frond.

The Bananaquit has a distinctive song of trills and electric buzzes.

Calls.

Another common bird is the Black-faced Grassquit.Song.

Call.

The Greater Antillean Bullfinch is very vocal, with high-pitched calls and song.

song (reduced time scale)

song: individual notes

calls at 7-9s

Contact call.

Alarm call.

The high chip of the Cape May Warbler, which is a common non-breeding bird on Andros, is similar.

Common Ground-Dove, with Key West Quail-Dove calling in the background.

Antillean Nighthawks began to arrive at the end of April, this one was flying over the beach at dawn.

Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America. Nathan Pieplow, 2017. Highly recommended, includes almost all known vocalizations of eastern US birds, with spectrograms and detailed analysis. Excellent!

Stokes Field Guide to Bird Song, Eastern Region, by Lang Elliot. 3 CDs. Of commercial recordings, this has the most comprehensive collection of songs and calls.

The Birds of North America Online (BNA). Comprehensive information on all aspects of life history, including audio and video. By subscription.

The Singing Life of Birds. Donald Kroodsma, Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Terrific book (plus CD), a must read.

The Songs of Wildbirds. Lang Elliott., Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Excellent photos with high quality recordings including some rare ones such as the flight song of the Western Meadowlark.

The Sound Approach to Birding. A guide to understanding bird sound. A. van de Berg, M Constantine, M. Robb. Superb discussion of bird calls and song with 2 CDs.